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The majority of business transactions today are conducted online, which in turn has caused computers to become household necessities. But as the internet continues to flourish, the rise of internet crimes seems endless. With the emergence of computer malware such as viruses, worms, spyware/adware we are constantly placing ourselves at risk by simply turning our computers on. The problem has become so widespread that Congress prepared changes in amendments specifically related to internet crimes. In 2003 the National Cyber Security Alliance reported that 90% of all broadband users have spyware installed on their computers! Corporations and small business owners worldwide are hiring software engineers or utilizing their own IT specialists in order to maintain appropriate internet security for their business.

Spyware/Adware is the latest form of internet intrusion, being any software installed on your computer without your knowledge or consent which allows information about you and/or your computer to be seen and used by others in an unwelcome manner. Being very difficult to remove on your own it usually requires installation of anti-spyware software to erase it completely from your hard drive. A lot of people think that their anti-virus software will protect against spyware as well, this is not the case since this software is not designed to specifically remove spyware, it goes undetected when your hard drive is scanned. Whether you’re a small business owner or even if you just use your computer on a regular basis, if don’t have some type of antivirus and anti-spyware protection installed on your computer you are extremely visible on the web (you want to be “invisible” when browsing the web) and are placing yourself at risk to intrusion and/or theft by internet predators. I would know since I had to pay $225 just to have viruses removed from my computer’s hard drive-which is never any fun by the way. So as a word of caution, make sure your information will be safe before placing it on your PC. You can visit Trend Micro to learn more about what to look for and how to protect yourself from malware, phishing sites, and, joke programs.